BAROSSA VISITOR INFORMATION CENTRE

Getting the Next Round - The Beers!

THE BEERS!

INGREDIENTS

Maggie Beer; Elli Beer; Saskia Beer

THE METHOD

“I have always thought the Barossa as Mediterranean as much as anything else, and not because of the produce, but more because of the very distinct and different seasons, and the way that they determine the patterns of our lives,” Maggie explains enthusiastically.

Encouraged a little further, the region’s most famous face manages to sum up the Barossa cuisine as more a spirit of generosity than actual ingredients, and something that has served to keep the multi-generational community together through shared exchange: “Really, it’s what makes us all tick - taking pride in the effort of the day, and then being able to share it around a table with a bottle of something delicious!”

All of this can be expertly uncovered at Maggie Beer’s Farm Shop, where you are as likely to find Saskia at work in the kitchen with her prized chooks and legendary pulled-pork, as you are to see Elli directing a lunch reception in the newly established function rooms.

But perhaps it is Maggie that best sums up this talented family’s involvement and contribution: “I have always thought it was the luckiest accident of my life that I came to live in the Barossa. I have grown up with a love of food – thanks to a German heritage on my father’s side and a tradition of great cooks in the family - but had not realised how that passive education of always eating simple but perfect food in season had shaped my life.

“The Barossa has a special food heritage, and I think it has shown the way for other Australian regions to look around them to maximise their food potential. But tradition cannot be imposed – we have it in the Barossa Valley and now it is recorded!”